DATE=04/05/02

TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP

TITLE=U.S./ MIDEAST

NUMBER=6-125630

BYLINE=JOHN GUCHEMAND

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

INTERNET=

CONTENT=

INTRO: The United States' renewed involvement in the mid east crises has sparked much debate during the past week in American newspapers. Many believe that this new turn of events is hopeful and necessary, but others criticize the Bush administration for insisting on the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian territories and cities.

Here with a sampling of U-S editorial comment is V-O-A's __________.

TEXT: Last week President Bush pledged greater U-S involvement in the region, announcing that he was sending Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region. President Bush called for an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian-controlled areas. At the same time, Mr. Bush said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had failed to stop suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis. He also warned Iran and Syria against funding what the administration sees as terrorist activities.

The Boston Globe calls The United States' renewed efforts an "indispensable move" towards peace in the region and "a long-overdue commitment of power and prestige to the construction of a just and durable peace..."

VOICE: Bush's decision to send Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region implies a recognition that the administration could not go on basing its conduct on a wish to avoid replicating Bill Clinton's immersion in Mideast peacemaking. There is too great a danger that flames from the current conflagration could imperil friendly Arab regimes. ... Indeed, [Bush's] very public call for Israel to halt its incursions into Palestinian towns...may provide Sharon with an exit strategy that his government otherwise lacks.

TEXT: The Christian Science Monitor agrees with the Bush administration's decision and adds that "Creating the conditions for peace will require the United States and others to work directly with the Palestinians, beyond Arafat..."

VOICE: President Bush, in his pivotal Thursday speech, said that Israel has the obligation to "show a respect for and concern about the dignity of the Palestinian people who are and will be their neighbors." He called on Palestinians to allow Israel not to worry about its survival...As Bush said last week: Arafat "has let his people down. And there are others in the region who can lead." Arafat is truly alone now.

TEXT: The Orlando Sentinel strongly supports Bush's decision to send Colin Powell to the region, echoing the Boston Globe and states that "President George W. Bush has belatedly, but wisely, decided to step up the U.S. role in seeking peace between Israelis and Palestinians."

VOICE: For too long, the president resisted getting too involved in what seems to be an intractable dispute. But the horrific events of the past week - a wave of suicide bombings followed by Israel's violent reoccupation of much of the West Bank - left him no choice. As Mr. Bush himself put it, "Enough is enough." ...Mr. Powell, who is well known and widely respected worldwide, will have the power to talk about a political solution. He might be the last, best hope for peace.

TEXT: But The Washington Times represents another view of the United States' recent policy shift, writing that it is becoming clearer that "the Bush administration has no coherent idea of how to react."

VOICE: ...judging from Mr. Bush's demand that Israel withdrawal immediately from Palestinian cities, the president fails to comprehend that, just as the United States is in a war for its own survival against Osama Bin Laden's terrorist network, Israel is also fighting for its very survival. ...Mr. Bush rightly understood that it would have been foolish and irresponsible to put an arbitrary deadline on U.S. anti-terror operations in Afghanistan, now entering their seventh month with no end in site. But he seems blind to the fact that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would be derelict in his duty if he did what Mr. Bush is now ordering him to do: prematurely end a critical military operation in the West Bank before terrorists are killed or captured and their hiding places destroyed. ...Instead of marginalizing Israel and sniping at the way it conducts its war on terrorism, Washington needs to do some serious thinking about the mutual enemies we confront.

TEXT: That concludes today's look at at the editorial pages of U-S newspapers.

NEB/JG/RAE